Vandalism: Why would someone do something like that?

That’s how Landon Brown, a student at Providence Grove High School, described how he felt when he first saw the vandalism at his school on a Sunday in mid-March.

“I started to wonder why someone would do something like that,” Brown said.

Landon and his father, Tim, the girls volleyball coach at Providence Grove, discovered the vandalism.

“Landon and I were going to fill up the concession trailer at the baseball field on Sunday afternoon about 2:15 p.m.,” the elder Brown said. “We saw where someone had ridden out on the football field. We walked around the corner and saw all the damage.”

On the night of Saturday, March 16, someone vandalized six school buses by pouring dirt into the gas tanks and three other vehicles — a tractor, a Gator and a golf cart. A section of fencing around the football field as well as the garage door to the field house were ripped down; the field was torn up by someone taking a joy ride on the Gator, which was flipped over. The electrical system on the golf cart was ruined.

Following an investigation into the vandalism, which authorities say occurred on the night of Saturday, March 16, Dakota Smith, 16, 5948 Hunting Lodge Road, Pleasant Garden,and Tyler Beane, 17, 3236 Kidds Mill Road, Franklinville, were charged in connection with the Providence Grove incident.

The teens are also facing multiple charges for vandalism that happened a week earlier at Eastern Randolph High School. Damage in that incident is estimated at about $5,000. It also included vandalism to buses; someone also turned on the water in the school’s greenhouse and the spigot was left running for as long as 16 hours.

Expenses that will specifically affect Providence Grove add up to $2,400. Providence Grove Principal Rick Dawes said most of the damage will be at county expense; if anyone is convicted of the crime, that person (or persons) will have to pay restitution.

Although no school events were cancelled due to the vandalism, it was necessary to borrow buses from other county schools to run Providence Grove bus routes the following Monday.

When asked if the incident will affect any school rules or safety guidelines to prevent future vandalisms, Dawes said, “It’s hard to stop people from vandalizing the school. Security won’t change. Gates are always locked. It’s not fair to punish everyone for a couple of crimes.”